Today, the EU requested the establishment of a compliance panel to assess the measures taken by the US to comply with the World Trade Organization (WTO) Panel report which ruled against US tariffs on Spanish ripe olives.

The EU considers that the US has so far failed to comply with the WTO Panel’s ruling and that it continues to apply illegitimate duties which could push Spanish olive exporters out of the US market.

The main objective of the compliance proceedings launched today is to push the US to comply with the WTO Panel’s ruling and thus to remove their unwarranted duties on Spanish ripe olives.

The EU has taken this step – which is fully in line with the WTO framework – to preserve the rights of Spanish olive producers.

Once composed, a compliance panel would have 90 days to issue a final award. Should the US fail to comply with this final award or decide to appeal the compliance panel report into the void, the EU could consider retaliatory measures.

The EU remains open to an amicable solution of the matter throughout the process.

Background

The US imposed countervailing duties on imports of ripe olives from the EU in 2018 based on claims which were found to be mostly erroneous by a WTO Panel report adopted in December 2021. The US announced its intention to implement the recommendations and rulings of the Panel and claimed to have completed this implementation by January 2023.

However, the EU disagreed and requested consultations with the US on the matter in April 2023; these consultations did not result in any progress towards the resolution of the dispute.

The compliance panel requested by the EU today is the next step under the WTO procedural framework in the ongoing dispute settlement proceedings.

For more information

WTO Case File for DS 577

EU Dispute Settlement

EU-US trade relations

Source: European Commission